.jpg) Boninsegna inRotterdam, 1974 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1943-11-13)13 November 1943 (age 82) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mantua, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Inter Milan | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1963–1964 | Prato | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1964–1965 | Potenza | 32 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 1965–1966 | Varese | 28 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1966–1969 | Cagliari | 83 | (23) | ||||||||||||||
| 1967 | Chicago Mustangs (American tour) | 9 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 1969–1976 | Inter Milan | 197 | (113) | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1979 | Juventus | 58 | (22) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1980 | Verona | 14 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 443 | (186) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1974 | Italy | 22 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Roberto Boninsegna (Italian pronunciation:[roˈbɛrtoboninˈseɲɲa,-ˌbɔ-]; born 13 November 1943) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who mainly played as aforward. After retiring, he worked as a football manager.[citation needed] As a player, he played for the Italy national side at twoWorld Cups, reaching the final in1970.
Born atMantua, Boninsegna started his career inSerie B (the second tier of Italian professional football) withPrato in 1963–64 season. He transferred toPotenza, who wasSerie B team in 1964–65 season. He also played forVarese in 1965–66 andCagliari between 1966 and 1969, helping the club to a second-place finish during the1968–69 Serie A season alongsideLuigi Riva.[1] During the summer of 1967,Cagliari came to the United States to play in theUnited Soccer Association as theChicago Mustangs; Boninsegna led the club in scoring with 11 goals in nine matches.[2] Boninsegna gained a status as an efficient striker withInter Milan and theItaly national team in the 1970s, playing alongsideSandro Mazzola. In Serie A, he totaled 171 goals in 281 games, and wastop goalscorer in Italy during the1970–71 and1971–72 Serie A seasons, with Inter.
After moving to Inter in 1969, he also won the1970–71 Serie A title with the club, and reached the1972 European Cup Final, only to be defeated byAjax.[1][3] He transferred toJuventus FC in 1976 in exchange forPietro Anastasi,[4][1] and he played three seasons for the club, winning twoSerie A titles, aCoppa Italia, and anUEFA Cup.[3][5] After leaving Juventus in 1979, he finished his career withVerona, retiring from professional football at the end of the1979–80 Serie B season.[1]
Boninsegna made his debut forItaly on 18 November 1967, in an awayUEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match against Switzerland, which ended 2–2,[1] although he was not called up for thefinal tournament, which Italy ended up winning on home soil under managerFerruccio Valcareggi, with whom he would have several disagreements throughout his international career.[3] With the national side, he took part in two World Cups, the first in1970, and the second in1974.[1] In total, he managed 9 goals for Italy in 22 appearances.[1][6]
Boninsegna was a member of the Italian side that reached the final of the1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, scoring two goals throughout the tournament. In theepic semi-final match againstWest-Germany, he scored a goal, and later set upGianni Rivera's match-winning goal in extra time, which allowed Italy to advance to the final after a 4–3 victory.[3][5][7] He scored Italy's only goal (though at the time it was an important equaliser) in thefinal againstBrazil, which Italy ultimately lost 4–1;[5] he came off for Rivera in the final minutes of the game.[3][6]
As a player, Boninsegna was a powerful, agile and acrobatic striker, who was known for his accurate finishing ability and intelligence in the penalty area. He was a prolific goalscorer, who excelled in the air, despite not being particularly tall or imposing physically.[4][8] He was also gifted with pace, stamina, technical ability, opportunism and outstanding consistency, which enabled him to become one of the top Italian forwards of his generation.[1] Despite his talent, he was criticised on occasion for being a selfish player, although he was also capable of creating chances for teammates.[3] He was also well known for his on the field rivalry withJuventus defenderFrancesco Morini, who later became his teammate.[9]
| Club | Season | League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | ||
| Prato | 1963–64 | Serie B | 22 | 1 |
| Potenza | 1964–65 | Serie B | 32 | 9 |
| Varese | 1965–66 | Serie A | 28 | 5 |
| Cagliari | 1966–67 | Serie A | 34 | 9 |
| 1967–68 | Serie A | 19 | 5 | |
| 1968–69 | Serie A | 30 | 9 | |
| Total | 83 | 23 | ||
| Chicago Mustangs | 1967 | United Soccer Association | 9 | 11 |
| Inter Milan | 1969–70 | Serie A | 30 | 13 |
| 1970–71 | Serie A | 28 | 24 | |
| 1971–72 | Serie A | 28 | 22 | |
| 1972–73 | Serie A | 27 | 12 | |
| 1973–74 | Serie A | 29 | 23 | |
| 1974–75 | Serie A | 29 | 9 | |
| 1975–76 | Serie A | 26 | 10 | |
| Total | 197 | 113 | ||
| Juventus | 1976–77 | Serie A | 29 | 10 |
| 1977–78 | Serie A | 21 | 10 | |
| 1978–79 | Serie A | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 58 | 22 | ||
| Verona | 1979–80 | Serie B | 14 | 3 |
| Career total | 443 | 186 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1967 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1970 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1971 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1972 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1974 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 22 | 9 |
Inter Milan
Juventus
Italy
Individual
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Serie ATop Scorer 1970–71 &1971–72 | Succeeded by |
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